Vienna Times | European English Newspaperhttp://www.viennatimes.com
Sat, 17 Feb 2018 05:43:38 +0000en-UShourly1https://wordpress.org/?v=4.9.3122916377The Flu Has Killed 84 Children This Seasonhttp://www.viennatimes.com/healthcare/the-flu-has-killed-84-children-this-season/
Sat, 17 Feb 2018 05:43:38 +0000http://www.viennatimes.com/?p=2355Three-quarters of the children who have died from the flu this season were not vaccinated, according to the acting director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. On Friday, the CDC announced that 84 children have died of the flu since the season began in the fall.

“This is devastating news,” Dr. Anne Schuchat, the acting CDC director, said during a press briefing on Thursday, when the publicly reported total was 63 children dead. “And unfortunately, we’re expecting to report additional pediatric deaths in the near future.”

Several children have died from the flu in the last week, including a 6-year-old in Massachusetts, a 7-year-old in Georgia, a 5-year-old in Brooklyn and a child in Tennessee. One girl, a 6-year-old from New Jersey, died despite getting the flu vaccine, her family told a local news station.

It’s clear the flu shot is far from perfect. Data released Thursday showed it was only about 36 percent effective at preventing the flu. However, among children the vaccine actually worked far better than that, even for the strain that is most prevalent this season, H3N2. The vaccine provided 51 percent protection for children against H3N2, Schuchat noted, and was 59 percent effective against all strains for children.

“It’s been a very hard season for families, particularly those who have lost children. So we continue to recommend parents get their kids vaccinated, even though it’s fairly late in the season,” she said.

In fact, the flu season may have finally peaked. The number of people who this week went to their doctors with influenza-like illness—that is, with a fever and a cough or a sore throat—was almost exactly the same as it was last week, according to data released Friday. The percentage of deaths that could be attributed to the flu and pneumonia went down for the first time this season, the data showed.

The African National Congress is expressing gratitude for Zuma’s “loyal service” and is encouraging party members to support Cyril Ramaphosa, who is now the country’s acting president.

Ramaphosa is expected to be elected swiftly in a parliament vote and sworn in.

South African President Jacob Zuma says he has resigned “with immediate effect.”

The scandal-tainted leader made the announcement late Wednesday in a televised address to the nation.

Zuma says he has resigned despite his disagreement with the instruction of the ruling African National Congress party to leave office immediately. The ANC had been prepared to pursue a vote of no confidence in parliament on Thursday.

The presidency had said Zuma would address the nation at the top of the hour but the podium shown on TV screens across the country remains empty.

South African President Jacob Zuma says “I will be out” if parliament votes against him in a motion of no confidence set for Thursday.

Zuma’s comment in a live interview on state broadcaster SABC suggests that he will not obey a ruling party order to leave office by the end of Wednesday.

The ruling African National Congress says it will move to oust Zuma in a parliamentary vote if he does not quit voluntarily.

Zuma says he has been “victimized” and that he disagrees with the ANC party’s efforts to remove him. He says he was willing to resign but wanted to stay a few more months on office.

Zuma broke his silence Wednesday in a live interview with state broadcaster SABC as the nation awaited word on whether he would obey a ruling party order to leave office.

Zuma says the ruling African National Congress has not followed party procedures in trying to unseat him. The ANC wants parliament to vote Thursday on a motion of no confidence if he doesn’t resign Wednesday.

“I need to be furnished on what I’ve done,” Zuma says. “What is this hurry?”

The president has not commented in the ongoing interview on whether he will resign.

The speaker of South Africa’s parliament wants to hold a motion of no confidence in President Jacob Zuma on Thursday afternoon.

The office of Baleka Mbete says the timing of the vote by open ballot must be agreed upon by the parliament’s program committee at a meeting later Wednesday.

However, resistance to Mbete’s plan is not likely. Both the ruling African National Congress party and opposition parties are pushing for a parliamentary vote against Zuma, who has not responded to an order from his own party to leave office.

An opposition-sponsored vote of no confidence against Zuma had been scheduled in parliament for Feb. 22, but opposition parties wanted the event to be moved to this week.

South Africa’s ruling party says parliament could elect a new president on Thursday if President Jacob Zuma leaves office.

Jackson Mthembu, a senior official in the African National Congress, says the party wants to resolve the country’s leadership turmoil as soon as possible.

Mthembu says that under an accelerated timeline, parliament would vote to remove Zuma from office on Thursday unless he resigns before then, and that lawmakers would elect a new president immediately after the vote.

The ruling party wants Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa to take over from Zuma, who has not responded to an ANC order to quit.

South Africa’s ruling party says it is preparing for a parliamentary motion of no confidence against President Jacob Zuma on Thursday.

Paul Mashatile, a senior official in the African National Congress, says the aim of the vote is to remove Zuma so that Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa can take over.

Mashatile says Zuma faces a deadline Wednesday to respond to a ruling party order to leave office.

“We can no longer keep South Africa waiting,” Mashatile says.

Zuma has been discredited by corruption scandals. Police have raided the home of a prominent business family with links to the president.

South African police have raided the residential compound of a business family suspected of using its ties to President Jacob Zuma to influence Cabinet appointments and land state contracts.

Agents from the Hawks, an elite police investigative unit, on Wednesday entered the compound of the Gupta family in Saxonwold, an affluent neighborhood in Johannesburg.

The raid happened as the ruling African National Congress Party awaited a response from Zuma after instructing him on Tuesday to quit office because of a series of scandals.

The Gupta business family has been a flashpoint for national anger over corruption in state enterprises during Zuma’s tenure. A judicial commission is preparing to investigate the alleged graft.

]]>2352Shaun White Wins Gold Medal In Men’s Halfpipe, The 100th Gold For Us In Winter Games Historyhttp://www.viennatimes.com/sports/shaun-white-wins-gold-medal-in-mens-halfpipe-the-100th-gold-for-us-in-winter-games-history/
Wed, 14 Feb 2018 05:23:09 +0000http://www.viennatimes.com/?p=2349The pressure was real. So were the tears — of joy, relief, redemption. This is why Shaun White keeps going. This is why the snowboarding superstar keeps coming back to the Olympics, a journey that’s seen him evolve from teenage phenom to global brand to living legend. One with a perpetual target on his back and impossible expectations to meet.

Standing atop the halfpipe on a gray Wednesday morning at slushy Phoenix Snow Park with his hopes for a third gold down to one final shot. White never wavered.

The stakes left him little choice. Rising star and heir apparent Ayumu Hirano had snatched the lead out of White’s hand during the men’s halfpipe final, throwing a spectacular epic second run to vault into the lead and put a portion of White’s Olympic legacy at risk.

When his score of 97.75 flashed, more than two points clear of Hirano and almost six clear of Australian bronze medalist Scotty James, it all seemed worth it. The long road back from disappointment in Sochi four years ago. The painful recovery from a crash in New Zealand last fall that required emergency surgery. The notion the man who for so long served as a pioneer had been surpassed by the next generation.

“What can I say? I won the Olympics,” White said. “Three gold medals. I was just hoping they’d give it to me. I was pretty sure I put it down but it took a little while. Just trying not to make eye contact with the judges.”

James, White and Hirano traded electric runs during qualifying on Tuesday, “sending it” in snowboarding terms and sending a bit of a message in the process. The three have eyed this showdown on the world stage for months and Hirano — who edged James in the X Games last month, an event White opted to skip after locking down a spot on the U.S. Olympic Team — shrugged when asked if he was concerned about the 98.50 White put up on Tuesday to earn the right to go last in the finals.

White put together a dazzling first run, throwing a 1440 early on and building from there. He tossed his helmet toward the crowd when he finished and celebrated in the waiting area while the judges deliberated. His score of 94.25 was tops after the first of the three finals runs, but Hirano recovered after sitting down during his first trip to put White on notice during the second.

Yet White had the top of the podium locked up during his last sprint down the pipe on both occasions. This moment required something more. And he delivered.

While the culture of snowboarding occasionally finds itself at odds with the competitive nature of the sport — James openly questioned the judging before the games and even said he’s “not huge on perfect scores” — White embraces it. His gold in Turin as a mop-topped 19-year-old helped launch him into a global brand. His repeat performance in Vancouver four years later, one he finished by stomping a “Double McTwist 1260” with gold already in hand, cemented his status as arguably the greatest ever in his sport.

In the interim, the sport that he defined went on without him. White found himself no longer inventing tricks so much as trying to master the pioneering acrobatics of others, including Hirano.

Labeled as snowboarding’s next big thing at 13, the 5-foot-2 Hirano is a twisting, flipping, boundary-pushing whirl hardly afraid at taking on his idol.

Police said the accident happened a little before 1 pm (1200 GMT) at Niklasdorf station in Styria province. The cause of the crash has yet to be determined.

A train company spokesman said the trains involved were a local service and an intercity train from Graz, which is about 40 kilometres (24 miles) from Niklasdorf, to Saarbruecken in Germany.

Part of the vehicle was hanging over the road’s guard rail, about to fall into a 100-metre (330-feet) precipice, when the man leapt from his front-row seat and pulled the brake at the last second.

“We were a hair’s breadth from catastrophe,” a police spokesman said, adding it was “incredible luck” that the passenger’s reflexes managed to stop the bus.

In December eight people were injured in a train derailment near the capital Vienna.

]]>2345LG May Update Its Flagship V30 With An Ai Camerahttp://www.viennatimes.com/technology/lg-may-update-its-flagship-v30-with-an-ai-camera/
Mon, 12 Feb 2018 05:26:42 +0000http://www.viennatimes.com/?p=2342LG’s V30 smartphone arrived last fall as a strong flagship with notable flaws, but we loved how much it suited the vlog life. Rumor has it that LG will announce a new model at the upcoming Mobile World Congress: The V30s, a largely similar phone equipped with a new AI-powered camera.

Per the rumor mill (ETNewsvia Phone Radar), the V30s’ AI camera would work with an “LG Lens” functionality similar to Google Lens on the Pixel 2 or Bixby Vision on Samsung’s Galaxy S8. In other words, point the phone at an object and the camera will recognize it and provide on-screen context. It’s unclear if that extends beyond AI recognition to the heights of assistanceship that Samsung’s and Google’s AI-plus-camera platforms aspire to be.

Scuttlebutt also noted that the LG V30s should offer 256GB of internal storage, the same as the hideously expensive 2 million won ($1,800) V30 Signature Edition and double the 128GB cap of the stock LG V30. The new model will also include a MicroSD slot for further expansion. Assuming Phone Radar‘s leaks are accurate, the V30s will go on sale in South Korea in early March after it debuts at MWC.

The Austrian doctors’ association initiated on Friday a petition in favour of a smoking ban in bars and restaurants that would bring the country into line with most of the rest of Europe.

“We are one of the last counties in Europe not to have a smoking ban,” said Paul Sevelda, head of cancer prevention and treatment organisation Krebshilfe Austria.

“And we know from other countries that a ban will lead to an immediate improvement in public health,” he said.

The Alpine country is one of Europe’s last havens for tobacco lovers and is nicknamed by anti-smoking campaigners the “Ashtray of Europe”. People can puff away in bars and eateries under certain conditions including that it is confined to separate rooms, but the rules are widely flouted.

Austria’s previous government passed a law in 2015 that had been set to ban the habit in all bars and restaurants from May 1 this year. But the new government, formed in December, has pledged to scrap the law.
It is a pet project of the far-right Freedom Party (FPOe), junior partners in the coalition.

But this has come up against stiff resistance. An unofficial online petition organised by Krebshilfe has garnered more than 450,000 signatures, equivalent to more than five percent of the population.

On Friday Krebshilfe and the Austrian doctors association applied with the interior ministry to launch an official petition that will open for signature in mid-February.

If this attracts more than 100,000 signatures the Austrian parliament will be obliged to debate the issue, which would put pressure on the government to reverse its plans.

]]>2339North Korea To Hold Military Parade Ahead Of Winter Olympicshttp://www.viennatimes.com/world-news/north-korea-to-hold-military-parade-ahead-of-winter-olympics/
Thu, 08 Feb 2018 05:16:24 +0000http://www.viennatimes.com/?p=2335North Korea is set to hold its 70th anniversary military parade, a day ahead of the Winter Olympics in South Korea.

The annual parade, marking the founding of its army, is usually held in April but was moved to 8 February this year.

Ahead of the parade, Korean Central Television is showing video archive of previous leaders, the local landscape and propaganda films.

It is not clear what time the parade will begin.

North Korea had earlier dismissed criticism of its plans to hold the parade a day before the Olympics, saying no-one had the right to take issue.

“It is a custom and very basic common sense that any country in the world takes the founding of its military very seriously and celebrates it with extravagant events,” said the ruling Workers’ Party newspaper, the Rodong Sinmun.

The US has said it would rather the parade not take place as the focus should be on the Games.

On Thursday, North Korea said it has no intention of meeting US officials during the Games, according to the North’s official KCNA news agency.

South Korean government officials had said last month that some 13,000 troops and 200 pieces of equipment had been spotted near an airport in Pyongyang in what appeared to be a rehearsal for the parade.

Experts say North Korea is expected to showcase its long-range missiles.

“What we should look out for during the parade is North Korea’s showcase of its missile vehicles, how many of them there are, and if they are carrying any new missile designs,” said David Schmerler, a North Korea analyst at the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies.

“However, we also need to remember that just because they showcase something doesn’t mean they are working on it. In the past, North Korea has paraded missiles that have never come to production.”

The main organiser of the Pyeongchang Olympics has said that the parade will not affect the “dynamics” of the Olympic Games.

Lee Hee-beom added that all 193 UN member states, including North Korea, have supported the UN Olympic Truce Resolution for the Winter Games.

Under the truce, which begins seven days before the opening of the Winter Games and runs until the seventh day after the closing of the Winter Paralympics, all UN member states are urged to stop all hostilities.

]]>23355 Steps To Speed Up Your Slow Wi-Fihttp://www.viennatimes.com/technology/5-steps-to-speed-up-your-slow-wi-fi/
Tue, 06 Feb 2018 05:15:13 +0000http://www.viennatimes.com/?p=2330Is buffering getting in the way of your binging? Kids blaming laggy Internet for losing online games? Wish your iPad could connect while curling up with an ebook in bed?

Good news: You have a few options to improve the speed, range, and overall performance of your wireless network.

The following tips and tricks should also help if you have multiple Wi-Fi devices on your network at the same time — such as a computer, printer, smartphone, tablet, Smart TV, video game console, multi-room sound system, and smart home gadgets.

It starts with your ISP

You could have the fastest router in the world, but it won’t be useful if you aren’t getting fast speeds from your Internet Service Provider (ISP).

Budget permitting, ensure you’re getting the fastest speeds offered by your ISP – especially if you like to stream video, play online games, and have multiple simultaneous devices on the network. Usually, the more you pay, the faster the download and upload speeds, and the more data you’re allowed to use per month (unlimited is the way to go if your ISP offers it).

If it’s been a few years since you’ve upgraded the modem you rent or bought from your ISP, confirm with them it’s the best they got.

Keep it on the main or top floor and close to the center of the house for optimum reach. Refrain from keeping your router in the basement, if you have one, as it’ll be tough for devices elsewhere in the home to communicate with it. On a related note, don’t shove the router in a corner of a home, or locked away in a cabinet, because you don’t like the way it looks. Instead, keep it out in the open for maximum reach in and around your home. Make sure it’s off the floor and on a desk or bookshelf.

Newer routers, consider MESH

According to a recent IDC survey, nearly half the people surveyed use routers that are at least 12 years old. Yikes.

If it’s been a few years since you’ve upgraded your router, consider picking up a new one – with 802.11ac speeds instead of the older 802.11n — as it’s not only faster but covers a wider area and supports more simultaneous devices. For maximum impact, your devices, such as a laptop, should also support the newer speeds.

Often a number is associated with the router, such as an AC3200 router, which is faster than an AC1900 router, for example (the higher the number, the better).

Those in a larger home (or older home, with, say, concrete walls) might consider a MESH network, which is a more advance router, and includes multiple “bases” or “hubs” – wireless extenders, if you will — to place around the home. These devices all wirelessly communicate back with the router to blanket a broader space, and with faster and more reliable Wi-Fi.

Channel changer

Today’s Wi-Fi routers broadcast in two different frequencies: 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz. Figuring out the best one for your situation can improve your network’s reach, speed, and reliability.

Devices on the 5 GHz frequency minimizes interference among devices also operating on the 2.4Hz frequency in the home, such as microwaves, baby monitors, and cordless phones. While the 2.4GHz frequency is able to reach farther distances than the 5GHz frequency, devices connected to the 5Hz frequency operate at faster speeds.

When joining your devices to your router (required once), you can choose which frequency you prefer.

Security, privacy

Especially now that routers have a broader range than ever before, it’s critical to have a password on your home’s Wi-Fi connection. You don’t need a degree in computer engineering to add a good password. If unsure, contact your ISP for help.

Neighbors who secretly use your wireless network get a free ride, which can also slow down your Internet performance. What’s more, you might be liable if nearby web surfers download illegal content, such as pirated movies, from your Internet connection. A password also minimizes the chances of someone hacking into your computer and access your personal info.

]]>2330US Jobs And Wages Rise In Januaryhttp://www.viennatimes.com/business/us-jobs-and-wages-rise-in-january/
Sat, 03 Feb 2018 05:13:50 +0000http://www.viennatimes.com/?p=2327The US labour market barrelled forward in January, as employers added more jobs than expected and wage growth was its strongest in more than eight years.

US payrolls expanded by 200,000 last month, driven by hiring in construction, food services and health care, the US Labor Department said.

The average hourly wage for private sector workers crept up 2.9% compared to January 2017.

The unemployment rate held steady at 4.1%.

Economists have puzzled over lacklustre wage growth, which has lagged in prior months despite the decline in the unemployment rate.

Without higher wages, economists have warned that economic growth will be difficult to sustain, since consumer spending plays a large role in the US economy.

The Labor Department report, released on Friday, showed average hourly earnings for private sector workers rose 9 cents in January, to $26.74. For the year, the increase was 75 cents.

The wage uptick coincided with mandatory minimum pay increases in 18 states. Major employers such as Walmart have also said they planned to boost earnings or provide bonuses.

Those factors may have helped lift last month’s numbers, but they make it harder to say if the increases will continue, said Lindsey Piezga, chief economist for fixed income at Stifel, based in Chicago.

“While that is encouraging, what we really need to see is sustained wage growth, not one-off, month-to-month volatility,” she said.

Other data in the report was a reminder that monthly gains can be fleeting.

For example, the unemployment rate among black workers jumped in January to 7.7%, rising after falling to a record low of 6.8% in December.

President Donald Trump had trumpeted that decline as evidence of economic improvement.

Slowing momentum?

The US is now in its ninth year of expansion and has been adding jobs steadily since 2010.

The increases in January occurred across most industries, a sign of solid growth.

The pace of hiring is slowing, however.

Over the last three months, payrolls increased by an average of 192,000 jobs, compared to over 200,000 in the same period the prior year.

“I don’t think we should be too excited about this,” said Ms Piezga.

“The momentum of the US economy is waning. We’re still talking about positive growth, positive job creation, but at a slower pace.”

Economists have said some slowdown in job creation is to be expected as new workers become harder to find.

Despite a relatively high number of job openings, participation in the labour force has remained stuck below 63%, several percentage points lower than it was before the financial crisis.

US stock indexes slid after the report.

Analysts said part of the decline was due to investor reaction to the wage increase, which is likely to keep the Federal Reserve on track to raise interest rates – and could make policymakers move more aggressively.

The Fed is one of several central banks that are turning from policies that were designed to boost economic activity in the aftermath of the financial crisis.

]]>2327Kurz Welcomes Orban To Vienna, Claiming To Act As ‘Bridge Builder’http://www.viennatimes.com/austria-news/kurz-welcomes-orban-to-vienna-claiming-to-act-as-bridge-builder/
Thu, 01 Feb 2018 05:23:15 +0000http://www.viennatimes.com/?p=2324Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz said Tuesday that he aimed to ease east-west strains within the European Union, as his new right-wing government welcomed Hungary’s incendiary Prime Minister Viktor Orban in Vienna.

“In particular since the start of the migrant crisis (in 2015) tensions have grown in the European Union,” Kurz told a joint news conference with Orban in the Austrian capital.

“Our great aim in Austria is to be a bridge-builder in this respect between the Visegrad states and the countries in western Europe,” the 31-year-old conservative said.

A rift has emerged in recent years between Brussels and the Visegrad group of Hungary, Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovakia — and in particular with Warsaw and Budapest.

Both have been the subject of legal action by the European Commission and they have refused to take part in a scheme to share out migrants around the 28-nation bloc.

Orban has called immigration the “Trojan Horse of terrorism” and described migrants as “Muslim invaders” of a Christian Europe.

“The biggest danger today to the hopeful future of central Europe is migration of peoples,” Orban told the news conference with Kurz on Tuesday.

“When I say that the future needs to be protected I mean that we have a culture, a Christian culture… We have a way of life, and we want to protect this way of life,” Orban said.

New ally

Hungary and Poland are likely to have something of a new ally in Austria, although both Kurz and Orban on Tuesday sought to quash speculation that Austria might even join Visegrad.

“Today is a new start” in relations, Orban said.

Kurz has talked tough on immigration and has praised Hungary for building fences in 2015 on its southern border, an outer frontier of the Schengen zone.

The EU scheme, Kurz said Tuesday, “isn’t working… We have to stop illegal immigration in order to ensure security in Europe. I am glad that there has been a change in thinking in many European countries in recent years.”

Orban, 54, was expected to get an even more sympathetic audience later Tuesday in a meeting with Heinz-Christian Strache, head of the far-right Freedom Party (FPÖ).

Since December the FPÖ, which opposes immigration, has been Kurz’s coalition partner.

Strache told a news conference with Orban that instead of insulting the Hungarian premier in 2015 during the migrant crisis, Austria’s government “should have thanked him” for protecting the Schengen outer border.